Happy Friday, Folks!
Let’s do this … together, okay … TGIF! It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it!
Well, first off, I want to thank my only child – Ayanna Lynne; and my only grandson – Caleb Isaac .. for one of the best birthday video calls a Man could have. He’s 4 going on 14 and she’s 38! They even sent me a nice photo of the two of them on Monday! Nice touch, “Kid”! Thank you Both!
It’s nice and important to see corporations like Nike and Starbucks “picking up the slack” and contributing to programs to enhance opportunities for people of color! Come on! It’s overdue. To me, it’s a great form of reparations. It’s clear that the Black Lives Movement does indeed have a point! For example, when did you ever hear of an Italian or catholic church being blown up while children were playing inside in an effort to frighten Italian Americans from voting?!? When was the last time you saw a say Polish woman being followed around a store as soon as she entered?!? NEVER! The stigma associated with skin color helps identify a target. It’s clear that sports teams both here, like in Washington DC to change the team’s long time racist inspired mascot … ” a redskin …”; or the European futbol teams support by wearing the logo “BLM” on their jerseys as well as “End Racism” – pick one – get the message! There was even one European futbol coach who SAID: (paraphrased) “We should be embarrassed about the way we have treated black people in the world for the past 400 years. We should say we are sorry …”
It is a turning point in American and World history, folks. While many “whites” have benefited from the imaginary “white privilege”, I am sure less of them would be willing to say “I’m sorry …” because THEY personally did not do anything to hurt “people of color”. This is where a willingness, maturity and a general desire to do “good” come into play. Is that in the hearts of the multi-racial groups of young people standing side by side and often leading the peaceful protests?!? You bet it is!!
I wanted to end this rather long and poignant “message” by reminding “folks” not to “blame the victim”!! This, too, requires maturity, a desire for unity and peace, and a review of the real history of slavery and racism in the world! It is WRONG and of course “all lives matter”! So stop instigating the killing of “blacks” because of their skin color. Once again, the States has the opportunity to lead the way in a long-needed radical change. END RACISM!! Once the nation’s capitol gets cleaned of the lying filth that occupies so many “positions”, we will have a better chance! Choose wisely – chaos or community?!?
Peace,
John I. Cook, Director
Educational Excellence 
Jul 18, 2020 @ 13:29:26
Gary Hodder
Fri, Jul 17, 11:23 AM (20 hours ago)
to me
John, saying “sorry” is fine, but talk is cheap. Actions are way more important than words. We white folks have been a horrendous nuisance over the last 400 years, invading and colonizing everywhere, stealing resources and land, and, in the case of slavery, stealing actual people. White historians then wrote about how great all this has been, and indeed it has been…for whites. The genocides barely made it into the footnotes.
The more I learned in college about all this violent conquest, the more depressed I got. Then, one day, I read a certain social theorist who stated, “The sins of England will be forgiven because of her services to liberty.”
I desperately hope that this can be true. On the plus side of the ledger, we whites invented the very idea of human rights and freedoms. That idea has been a powerfully transformative concept in human history. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 was the basis for the United States Bill of Rights of 1789, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950.
The obvious counterpoint is that white people have been excruciatingly slow to acknowledge such rights and freedoms for non-whites, and there is still a long way to go, clearly. There was some progress, but it seems to have stalled. However, the idea of freedom, though still poorly formed, gives us all a collective objective that will not fail us. This idea is the place where we meet and plan our future. It is a ready fountain of inspiration. It will get us to where we go from here.
Ritchie Havens was the opening act at Woodstock. He was the only musician there. All the others were caught in traffic. The promoters kept telling him to play, and he played every song he knew. Eventually he had to start improvising, and he made up, on the spot, what became his most famous song. In an interview before he died, Havens said, “When you see me in the movie tuning my guitar and strumming, I was actually trying to figure out what else I could possibly play! I looked out at all of those faces in front of me and the word ‘freedom’ came to mind.”
Be well.
Gary
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Jul 18, 2020 @ 14:17:05
John Cook
Fri, Jul 17, 12:20 PM (19 hours ago)
to Gary
Counselor,
Thank you for your points of clarification as a white person.
The history of the concept of race you discuss is clear and concise. Of course, saying sorry is perhaps just the beginning. When I saw all those European futbol players on one knee, fist raised in support of their teammates, I was touched!
I am glad you replied “G” and helping me see clearer!
Blessings,
John
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Jul 18, 2020 @ 23:50:36
Barry Stevens
Fri, Jul 17, 11:35 AM (1 day ago)
to me
You’ve probably met Flora Dominis, one of the original founders of Puerto Pirata. Flora recently visited her family in Nigeria. Everyone there apparently got a big laugh when Flora arrived at a party her mom had put together to welcome her home. The laughter started when Flora entered the room – her mom said that Flora was the only white person there…
No matter which side of the issue anyone is on, the more that this or any issue gets discussed, by more and more people, the more of whatever that discussion is about gets created – the more of something we talk about, the more of that exact same thing gets created around us. This is thoroughly measured by science – one such science group, the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Center… one of their papers is available on the internet – look for “Wishing For Good Weather”, where the rainfall during graduation ceremonies, which are held outside, was shown to be reduced or eliminated by the consciousness of those 10,000 people attending the ceremonies.
If we all start writing in a unified style, eliminating the stark differences between black and white people, and instead just write about “people”… and all the good things they can put in their head and their daily activities, changes will occur.
We get a daily subscription to the New York Times. I got into this kind of discussion with their editor… sent them the article from Princeton, and they got the point. After two months, they started putting one good news story on the front page of the NYT. Four months, TWO positive stories… and onward it goes.
If you’d like to continue this discussion, and we can brainstorm about the good news that can be written up in this topic area, let me know!
B
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Jul 19, 2020 @ 00:22:08
ohn Cook
Attachments
Fri, Jul 17, 12:15 PM (1 day ago)
to Barry
Writing about it is one thing! Living in harmony and peace requires mutual respect. Yes, I know Flora, her husband was just here! Yet, as a social activist born and raised in a country built on racism, it’s hard to ignore the differences that “some people” like to point out between the races! I have a responsibility to point out the “divisiveness” used by people to make others uncomfortable after inviting a person to visit. This is what happened with Nanci … Not what happened with Flora and her family.
Like I suggested, maybe you could use the topic for your discussion group!
Peace,
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